Two of the best holidays...

We had two holidays this last week... Thanksgiving and my birthday!

I really enjoyed Thanksgiving this year. (Well, I suppose I always do...) We spent it with Burke's parents, Blake, Bonnie, and Burke's aunt, uncle, and cousin who drove in from Minnesota. I made an apple pie on Wednesday. I was nervous about it because I've only ever made like 3 pies ever, and only 1 of the 3 turned out very good. But Mama sent me her recipe (she makes apple pie every year, and it's always fantastic!) and I took my time on the crust, and when it was finished it actually looked really pretty! And when we finally got around to eating it on Thanksgiving, it was delicious too.

I had to work on Wednesday night and Friday morning, but getting to spend all day Thursday with the family was nice. All of the food was delicious! I took a nice nap in the afternoon, and in the evening we went to see Harry Potter. Ah holidays!

And on Saturday I turned 23. (Today is the birthday of one of the resident's at work who is turning 83. I've remembered it all month because she is almost exactly 60 years older than me!) It was a pretty chill day. We went over to Burke's parents for "lunch" which turned out to be a surprise party that Burke and Bonnie had been working on. It was really thoughtful of them and Kathy and those who came. I got to talk to (almost) everybody in my family and that was really great too. In the evening Burke and I went out to dinner. (Burke insisted that we had to go somewhere that we could get cake! I needed a piece of birthday cake!) When we came home we decorated our Christmas tree, which may have been my favorite part of the day. Thanks to everyone who made my birthday special!

WE ARE MOVING TO VIRGINIA

We've kind of assumed it for a long time, but it's official. Today I put in my "4 weeks notice" at work. We'll be moving to Norfolk, VA around the end of the year and I will be starting the PA program at Eastern Virginia Medical School on January 3. Hoorah!

Decisions, decisions.... you know, the big ones? I'm tired of them! The last few months have been SO HARD! But now we know. It's hard for Burke to quit his job but he's been applying for lots of finance jobs in the area and we've been making contacts as best we can (without actually knowing anyone there!). I got accepted to Rosalind Franklin but we didn't feel like it was the right thing to do. I got a rejection letter from AT Still in AZ, and that was a little disappointing I guess, but alright. I still don't know for sure from Wake Forest, but I talked to the program director last night and she basically said "Look, I just don't think we're going to have a spot for you, but we won't know for sure until January or February." SO here we are.

Burke is amazing, really. None of this is easy for either of us, especially him, but he is so supportive, and always has been. We really are trying to do what we feel is the right thing for us at this time. We are so excited for this next adventure! Nervous, definitely, but excited! I am so grateful for my husband, my better half. I'm also grateful for the knowledge that our Heavenly Father answers prayers! He does!!! And I don't know what on earth we would do without that. He loves us. He loves each of his children, and He wants to bless us! Just ASK!

The Science of Exercise

You may not know it when you consider my current occupation and pay rate, but I have a Bachelor's Degree. In what? you might ask. In Exercise Science. Now, I'm not exactly sure what comes to your mind when you hear that, but I'm betting it wouldn't really describe how I feel about the education I received. I kind of feel like most people that I've told lately think I should be a personal trainer or something. Not that I couldn't have been, but it's a flexible major and I didn't really gear it that way. Besides, you don't need a Bachelor's degree to be a personal trainer. So what did I end up with? A completely unmarketable degree with no experience. I knew I was going to grad school, so it didn't really matter to me then.

Not that I haven't learned anything about exercise. I definitely have. I know enough to tell you that one of the best ways to live long and healthy is to exercise. But how do I apply this very expensive piece of knowledge? Well, up until a few weeks ago, not very well. I was struggling after we moved here because there were not very many places to run and I couldn't get into a good routine around my weird work schedule. But a few weeks ago, Burke and I joined the YMCA!



It was a major decision, because as far as we were concerned... it is a LOT of money. But we decided to do it facing the prospect of a long, snowy, Wisconsin winter. We signed up during a promotion and saved a good $60 or so. Since then we have gone swimming, ran on treadmills, lifted weights, Burke has tried to teach me how to play racquetball, and I started taking a Zumba class.

Since yoga (which would be my first choice any day) costs an extra 20 or 30 bucks, I decided to give Zumba a try. The first day of the class I was nervous, thinking, "Gosh I wish I had someone to go with me." As soon as the class started, however, I was SO GLAD I didn't know anyone in there! I look like an idiot. It's just dancing for exercise, and it's fun I guess, but I just try to avoid the mirrors at all costs. The whole time I'm just trying to figure out how to get my arms to move like that with my legs and hips, etc.

And swimming? It's a similar story. I took a beginning swimming class at BYU my sophomore year to try and relearn how to swim (because I had literally forgotten since my childhood swimming lessons). By this point, I know HOW to do the strokes correctly, but I still can't go 2 lengths of the pool without stopping. My swimming workouts consist of going one length of the pool at freestyle, rest, then back; repeat with breast stroke; repeat with back stroke.... repeat until I've had enough.

Then there's racquetball. So I like tennis, so I figured racquetball would be great. We've only played once so far, but I just couldn't get the hang of hitting the ball AFTER it bounced off the wall behind me. It was a little frustrating... and imagine poor Burke. Like I said, we've only played once.

Needless to say, most of the time when I exercise, I feel a little pathetic. Even running nowadays... I can do it outside, but on a treadmill I can't make myself go more than a mile or two. Add that to the admission that my degree is in Exercise Science, and well, I guess all I can say is, ya gotta start somewhere.

But I'll tell you one thing I do know about the "science of exercise": pay a bunch of money to join a gym and you'll be much more likely to get your ever-needed exercise.